Legacy of the Rattlesnake
by burningsilver
Summary: Meet Taylor Austin. Yes, she's related to THAT Austin. Brought in as the final member of Legacy, Taylor is supposed to be the one person Randy Orton has always been able to trust. In real life, tensions between the two are high and when it becomes clear that Taylor is being stalked the question is; will Randy be her greatest ally or is he the one putting her life in danger?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** I only wish I owned WWE. Oh to have some of those $$$. The OCs are mine and that's about it. Before we get into it, I do want to state that this is an idea from years ago that I'm revamping. It's set when Legacy formed, starting as they began to feud with the McMahons and I've tried to compile as much information as possible about the timeline (because stretching my own brain would not be enough) so hopefully it will still be fairly accurate. With that said, of course I'll be taking some artistic license with it. Enjoy!

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Legacy of the Rattlesnake

 **Prologue:**

"Steph, I just don't see how this is going to work." Randy Orton complained, trying to sound calm and collected. He was trying to plead his case with his boss (or at least, with one of them) and so far she didn't look to be swayed. "We don't have any divas available for this storyline that are second generation! And why would I even _want_ a woman in the group in the first place? It makes no sense." To everyone watching the show, he and Stephanie McMahon hated one another. Off screen, things were fine despite small disagreements like the one taking place currently.

"Randy, Legacy has plenty of sex appeal for women, I just want to add some for the men." Stephanie said with a shrug. Randy just blinked at her and stared in shock for a moment before his shoulders gave a slight shake with his laughter.

"That is the worst excuse I've ever heard. Besides, like I said - why would I invite someone who wasn't second generation?"

"Who said they wouldn't be?" Stephanie shot back, making Randy narrow his eyes and squint at her.

"You're just going to write someone up as second generation? Or pull Nattie from what she's doing which would be ridiculous, if you ask me."

Steph rolled her eyes at the younger man and both of their eyes turned to the doorway when the door was opened. The woman who walked in was only a couple of inches shy of six foot, at five foot ten. The lovely mystery was muscular with sparkling blue eyes and a head full of black hair that flowed about halfway down to her elbows.

"Hey Steph…" She greeted casually before her eyes turned to Randy, not looking too surprised to see him in the office.

"Hey! Randy, this is our newest diva, and the newest member of Legacy." Steph said, gesturing at her. Randy looked in between the two of them for a moment, seeming somewhat dumbfounded before taking the hand the still unnamed woman extended to him and shaking it.

The woman smirked at him, "I was born Taylor Williams, but uh… when Dad changed his last name I changed mine too, so I'm better known as Taylor Austin."

His eyes narrowed a moment and his eyes flitted from Taylor's to Steph's, "This is Stone Cold's daughter?"

"That would be me." Taylor said calmly, raising a brow as Randy dropped her hand and snatched his script up from Steph's desk. With that he walked out, shaking his head.

"Well, that went well…" Taylor said dryly and Steph giggled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Ah don't worry about him, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine. Come sit down, get your script and we can talk about it and your back story."

Steph informed her that in the storyline she and Randy had known each others for years through schooling and that they were each the only person the other could trust. It had taken her some time but finally she had followed Randy to the WWE and now she planned to help him take the McMahon family and anyone else who got in their way down. It made plenty of sense with the feud her father had had with the McMahon's during his career - even if she would be on the flip side of the heel/face situation.

The story also said that because her father was so young when she was born, that's why she lived away from him for most of her life and how she'd met Randy.

It wasn't too far from the truth really, if you took out the part about knowing Randy. Steve Austin, who was Steve Williams at the time, was only 16 when Taylor was born. Although he'd always known she was his (his signature was on her birth certificate) and had done what he could to help his young girlfriend at the time, Steve lived in Texas whilst her mother's family had chosen to move elsewhere, though in her storyline it was Missouri near Randy. Even though he'd always been a part of her life in some small way, it wasn't until she was 10 that she'd started to get to know her father better and now they were quite close.

Taylor actually hadn't even started wrestling until 2001 when she and her father had first started talking about him retiring one day. He'd helped to train her since then and she had worked her butt off to get where she was, not wanting to ride on her name - working in Japan and then OVW as well before the WWE decided they wanted her in this Legacy storyline and she was excited. Steph warned her that she might not get to shoot right for a title and she'd be working alongside Legacy and getting involved in their scraps more than she would be wrestling matches on TV but it was a start and as long she got to get into the thick of things, it didn't bother her. Especially since she would get to do more with house shows.

Sadly, Taylor wouldn't get to start on the RAW that would air that night. It was the day after the Royal Rumble and a week after Randy had punted Vince McMahon in the head, and tonight Randy would bring out lawyers to claim he suffered from I.E.D. With this week a little busy and not the best time to introduce her, her on screen debut would have to wait until the next week. The second of February was marked on the calendar and the daughter of one of the best known wrestlers of all time was ready.

Apparently working with Orton was going to be a damper… but nonetheless, this would be fun.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry to stick you with another note at the end... but I just wanted to warn you that this chapter was largely written years ago and I just gave it a few tweaks. If my writing seems a little different in the next chapter, my apologies! Anyway, I hope this basic introduction works well for you and I look forward to continuing this and getting back in the game. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 01

**Author's Note:** I own nothing, I am completely broke. Taylor is my only creation.

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Legacy of the Rattlesnake

 **February 2** **nd** **, 2009**

"Daddy… I'm an Austin. You have nothing to worry about." Taylor assured her father, and heard him laugh on the other end.

" _Yes I know you're an Austin baby girl, but so am I, so I'm allowed to worry about you."_

"Yeah yeah." She said, hearing the locker room door open as she did, turning to see the Legacy walking in. "I gotta go, work calls."

Randy scowled at her for a moment, but she ignored it, listening to her father snort on the other end. _"Yeah. Work. Right. Have fun darlin'. You call me if you need anything._ "

"I will Dad. Love you."

" _I love you too baby girl."_ He told her before they hung up, and she slipped her phone into her bag since she was already in her ring gear. Fortunately the phone call hadn't been cut short by her teammates entering, since Taylor had arrived at the arena early and met with Steph. After getting in a workout, she'd headed to the locker room that she was told belonged to her new stable and then called her father. He promised to check on her place every so often now that she was on the road and she'd mentioned that Randy didn't seem all that impressed by her. Her father said that he would come around soon enough. His faith in her made her grin, although she didn't need Randy's approval it was nice to think he would actually see her worth at some point. As for still calling her father Daddy at age 28… well she was a Daddy's Little Girl and always would be.

She held her hand out to Cody and Ted, who were looking at her curiously after placing their bags down. Each shook her hand in turn. "Nice to meet you. I'm Taylor Austin."

"Austin?" Cody asked.

"As in, Stone Cold?" Ted finished.

She nodded a little bit, "Yeah. That's me." She pointed at the tank top she wore for the night, bearing 'Austin 3:16' on the front. Both Ted and Cody looked embarrassed to have missed it. The rest of her gear was made up by black faux leather leggings, and wrestling boots with a red pattern along the side.

"Well that's awkward," Cody commented, getting a laugh in response from Taylor, who shrugged at him.

"Don't worry about it. I guess Randy didn't tell you guys about me, then?" Her eyes slid sideways to Randy as she mentioned him and noticed the way he scowled at her. Clearly he still wasn't that excited by their storyline but as long as he could fake it on screen, she didn't care what he thought back here.

"He mentioned that a Diva would be joining us, he didn't explain that you'd be the daughter of a freakin' legend." Ted replied, eying off Randy as well. Finally the Viper stood up and walked over to the three, scowl seeming to be permanently etched on his face.

"I didn't mention that because it doesn't matter who her father is." Randy turned to her and squinted slightly, "And as for you – as far as I'm concerned, you're a rookie – so you watch us out there, and listen to our critique, because we're the pros and I don't need you getting in our way."

Taylor's jaw clenched and when she spoke, her voice took on a silky quality, "You made your wrestling debut in 2000, in a promotion that you started training at. I started training in 2001. I am not that far behind you Orton. I'm new to WWE, sure, and I am more than happy to take critique on my performances because I know that you never stop learning and you're never too good to listen to critiques… but I've been wrestling for 8 years now, I'm not an idiot. I won't be getting in anyone's way."

Cody awkwardly cleared his throat beside her, "You know… She has a point, Randy. She's been wrestling longer than Teddy and I have. I mean, sure I was wrestling in high school when she started training but that was a little different."

This time, Randy's jaw clenched and then he stepped back from them, nostrils flaring briefly before he walked around the three and left the locker room. Taylor slung an arm around Cody's shoulders now and grinned at him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

It was a while before Randy returned to the locker room, and when he did he found Taylor stretching – even though she didn't have a match that night – and getting along well with the other two members of Legacy. Ted had confessed that he thought he remembered meeting Taylor once, back in 1996 when his father had managed Steve and she was pretty sure that he was right. She could tell that Randy seemed put off by how easily she was fitting in but wasn't really sure why he was so bothered. All she could think was because it was a woman but if he was worried about her being weak because of her gender, Randy Orton had another thing coming to him. Her father had raised her to be tough as nails, and had certainly not held back on her training – and neither had anyone else that had helped her out, or wrestled with her over the years. In fact, a few years back she had intentionally sought out Bob Holly to give her notes because she knew that he was a man who didn't hold back. Taylor loved the man and since he was so good at what he did, he'd been incredibly helpful in refining her style a little more. Plus he was one of the toughest men that she had ever met and one of the proudest moments of her life was when Bob Holly told her that he thought she was tough. His seal of approval mattered a lot more to her than Randy Orton's did.

Taylor Austin waited by the gorilla, watching on the screen as Legacy gathered in the ring and anticipating her cue to head out there and debut to a WWE crowd.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I know, I know, another note. I just wanted to give you guys a little heads up about how I'm going to be writing this story. It won't necessarily be the case that 'every other chapter' is done like this, but when I write about the show, I am currently planning to write it in kayfabe, basically and generally a whole chapter to itself. Sometimes I might combine a couple of shows in one chapter but don't panic I will cover that time period in some capacity in non-show chapters. If you don't like the format, let me know because it's something I never tried in the past. With that said, if the show chapters are shorter/longer than average, please understand. I'm also going to try to make sure I have a story chapter ready to go with a show chapter, and update with both so that you don't feel as though you don't get a progression with an update. And finally, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry this update took a while! Unfortunately life got in the way but I'm anticipating having more time to write soon and that means I will hopefully update more regularly! I also have another story in the works, but it will be a far shorter project than this one is planned to be. Thanks guys! Hope you're enjoying this story so far, and that you stick with it because things are going to get bigger and better from here.


	3. Chapter 02

**Author's Note:** I am a cash strapped student who owns just about nothing. Taylor is my only creation.

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Legacy of the Rattlesnake

 **February 2** **nd** **2009**

 _Here comes the money…_

Shane McMahon made his way to the ring, as the crowd cheered. A video package popped up on the titantron as he stepped between the ropes. Last week on Raw, Shane made a big splash by coming back to attack Legacy thanks to their actions against his family. Right before the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton punted Vince McMahon in the head and went on to emerge victorious at the Pay Per View before Stephanie McMahon could fire him. The next night on Raw he promised her that if she tried to fire him, he would take legal action as winning the rumble entitled him to a match at Wrestlemania. Promised that _we've_ got bigger plans by Stephanie, Randy was met by Shane McMahon in a spear, furiously attacking Legacy.

"You know, last week when Raw went off the air, I was approached by Randy Orton's legal team… And I was actually surprised by what they had to say. I thought they were going to come to me and talk more about the injunction or a lawsuit or going to press assault charges against me. That's not what happened. They said that Randy Orton wants to face me… At No Way Out. And I've accepted. So this week it's now official. The contracts have been executed by both parties, Shane McMahon vs Randy Orton at No Way Out, in a No Holds Barred match!" Shane took his time with it, pacing slightly within the ring and taking in the crowd, letting them cheer at the appropriate moments before continuing.

"But Randy, I know you can hear me and listen up. I'm not going to be out there at No Way Out to pin your shoulders to the mat. Oh no, after that deplorable, cowardly act you did to my father, Randy, I want some payback and I'm gonna get it." He paused briefly.

"And the fact, that you had the audacity to sick your attorneys to try and have an injunction against Wrestlemania itself and then take it away from everybody, well Randy, I'm going to turn that around on you as well. Because Randy, it doesn't matter about the amazing accomplishment you had at the Royal Rumble this year because I'm going to do everything in my power, I'm going to sacrifice my body and I'm gonna ensure after No Way Out that you are unable to compete at _Wrestlemania_." The crowd began to cheer as Shane paused again, taking it in.

 _I hear voices in my head…_

Randy stalked his way out slowly as his music played throughout the arena, a small smirk tugging briefly at his lips before he paused at the top of the ramp. First he paced slightly, organizing his thoughts and then looking up to the McMahon in the ring. "You seem…" He paused as the crowd began to boo, appearing to soak it all in. Their disapproval fuelled him. "Shane, you seem pretty sure of yourself… but after last week, what you pulled off, why wouldn't you be? I'm just curious. Did you ever stop and ask yourself, how did you do it? How did you possibly, single handedly, beat up the three top superstars in the WWE?"

The Viper paused again for more booing, reveling in the sound. "Well the answer, Shane, is simple. You didn't. The second that I saw you coming down this ramp, lip quivering, full of rage! I made a decision. I told Ted and Cody…" Randy paused, listening to the RKO chants from his home crowd and seeming equally as smug as he did, despite a small shake of his head. He wouldn't cater to their demands. "I made a decision, Shane, I told Ted and Cody not to fight back." In the ring, Shane looked mildly amused and certainly disbelieving of the words coming from the leader of Legacy's mouth.

"Watch the tape! Watch the footage, Shane. The proof is in the footage. Sure, Ted and Cody, they scuffled around a bit with you, even tried to contain you but just like me, they didn't fight back. When I saw you coming down to the ring last week, I wasn't looking at you, I was looking at the entire Raw roster standing behind you, knowing that they were just for the opportunity – _the_ opportunity – to impress you, or your sister. I also knew that if we fought back, if we threw just one punch that our odds went from three on one, to twenty on three and I was _not_ gonna let that happen." Randy paused for a moment, and Shane's face still seemed to wish not to believe the words coming from Randy's mouth, or was at least carefully disguising any surprise he felt.

"It was a small price to pay for what I truly wanted Shane, a match with you at No Way Out… and now it's official. No Holds Barred. I can do whatever I wanna do to you, without any consequences. So Shane, if I were you, I would call that hospital that I put your father in and I would order a bed and put it right alongside him because after I am done with you at No Way Out… Your father is gonna have some company." The crowd was mixed, some cheering because Randy was the hometown star and others booing because they knew what he's doing was wrong. Lowering the mic, Randy took a few steps towards the ring, as though he was about to make an early move on Shane.

While Shane's attention seemed focused on Randy, the man smirked slightly before turning around to start walking back up the ramp. The crowd booed and Randy paused, putting the mic down on the ramp almost delicately before glancing back toward the ring. Once more he walked toward it as the crowd chanted "You Suck" and Shane removed his jacket. The Viper continued to stalk forward as Shane shifted stances and then Randy teased getting in the ring, putting a leg up on the apron before lowering it to the floor amongst the booing of the crowd. Suddenly, out of nowhere, all the members of Legacy converged on the ring. Randy and Cody sliding in first before Ted followed suit, all three finding out the hard way that Shane had been prepared with a kendo stick to fend them off.

Quickly sliding from the ring, Ted and Cody bearing the worst of the kendo stick blows, the three members of Legacy regrouped on the ramp. Angry, Randy yelled at his faction members while Shane called for the three to join him in the ring. The Viper pulled his minions up the ramp, staring down Shane until they got to the top of the ramp, finally disappearing backstage.

* * *

The junior members of Legacy are joined by Cryme Tyme in the ring, with JTG and Ted starting off. Ted started off the match with a kick to the gut and some large strikes, but JTG followed up with a dropkick that wound up sending Ted into the corner to set up for a DDT and a short lived cover attempt. Still smarting from the kendo stick earlier, Ted blocked JTG after being bounced off the ropes and tossed him down against the mat before committing to an angry elbow drop.

Ted tagged in Cody, who immediately took a hold of JTG, though he was blocked and thrown back against the turnbuckle. Refusing to back down, Cody brought JTG back to the mat and threw blow after blow until the referee broke it up. Pulling JTG into a submission hold, the referee asked if JTG gave up, which only served to spur him into action, managing to fight his way out. Both Cody and JTG tagged out to their partners and Shad exploded into action, manhandling Ted until he could go for a cover. Cody made the save and interrupted the tag, only for both members of Legacy to beat on Shad. The two finished the job by planting Shad face first into the mat as the referee yelled for them to head to the back after disqualifying them both.

Ted and Cody left the ring, heading partway up the ramp before pausing to absorb the booing crowed. Both seem to take after Randy, enjoying the sound their actions have pulled from the crowd, referees and JTG tending to Shad in the ring. When Randy appeared on the ramp with a microphone and started heading towards them, Legacy turned back towards the ring and allowed the referee and JTG to help Shad towards the back, looking smug. All three slid into the ring and Randy waited a few moments to embrace his home crowd's anger before actually raising the mic to his lips.

"Legacy." He said, glancing around and looking at both of his teammates – his followers – before continuing, "We are the legacy of wrestling families. Wrestling _royalty_. This business is in our blood. But this team… we're missing something." At this, Ted and Cody seemed concerned, while Randy took a few steps and rubbed his chin, "We are the sons of wrestling legends. But Legacy doesn't have any daughters." A low rumble spread through the crowd, people wondering if somehow Legacy had managed to convince Natalya to join them. Randy ignored the soft murmuring, a smirk pulling at his lips.

"So I decided to call in a childhood friend. Someone who I know can be trusted. She's the daughter of a legend. And her name is Taylor." Randy said, as a photo package flashed across the titantron and then… the sound of glass shattering filtered through the arena. An astonished crowd buzzed with excitement, not sure whether they needed to cheer or not as Taylor emerged with a grin. She was clad in all black, faux leather leggings with black wrestling boots laced over them – a red pattern on the side of them the only pop of colour – as well as an Austin 3:16 tank top. The look was completed with a leather jacket. Meanwhile her makeup was natural, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders. For a moment she stood there, staring at the ring… and then she raised her arms and lifted her middle fingers. The crowd exploded, anticipating that maybe Stone Cold Steve Austin's daughter wasn't down with Legacy but proving them wrong, she made her way down the ramp and slid into the ring with the rest of her stable.

Randy held out the microphone to her as she stepped closer, and she took it from him, before glancing out at the audience. They were watching for her next move, and a rippled 'what?!' rang through the audience as she lifted the mic to her lips.

"That's right. My name is Taylor Austin."

WHAT?!

"I've known Randy Orton my whole life."

WHAT?!

"Both of us have _always_ known that we would take charge of the wrestling world."

WHAT?!

"And now along with Ted and Cody, that's exactly what we're going to do."

WHAT?!

"Because _we_ are goddamn legacies."

WHAT?!

"And _that's_ the bottom line." People were cheering as she dropped the mic, although they knew her actions would probably lead them to boo in future. Legacy huddled for a moment, before all four members left the ring with their heads held high.

* * *

Shane and Stephanie were walking backstage, obviously conversing about the situation with Randy Orton. The younger of the siblings professed her concern for her brother, wanting him to be careful, knowing what the Viper is capable of. Then the four members of Legacy came barreling down a hallway towards them, colliding with Shane and sending Stephanie flying into the wall. She slid down it while Legacy pulled Shane away, each one striking at him but especially Randy, until security comes to break up the beat down. The members of Legacy laid into security and while that kept Cody, Ted and Taylor distracted, Orton turned to Shane McMahon and lined up for the punt.

He started to advance before catching sight of Stephanie, struggling to get up a little further away where the attack originated… and making a perfect target. Taking a few steps closer, Randy prepared himself for the punt again and launched at the younger McMahon sibling. Before his foot could connect with her head, however, Shane dived in the way and Randy's punt connected solidly with his back. The older of the siblings groaned in pain and more people appeared to break up the scuffle, the other members of Legacy appearing by Randy's side as he stepped back in shock. Stephanie called her brothers name in a panic as all four Legacy members look nervous, with Taylor reaching out across Randy almost protectively and backing the team up a few steps. The Viper swiped a hand over his forehead before wrapping an arm around Taylor's shoulder, a hand coming to rest on Ted and Cody's shoulders. It's Taylor who keeps tugging them away, pulling them from the scene of the attack, her face set in determination.

* * *

Kane is pacing slightly in his locker room, face set in its usual menacing gaze when a seemingly timid Stephanie McMahon joined him.

"Kane… Is it set? Did you talk to him?" She asked, wringing her hands nervously while looking up into the man's face.

"He'll be here." Kane assured, watching her through narrowed eyes that seem unsympathetic to her plight.

"Then it's official. At No Way Out, _you_ are in the elimination chamber… and next week, Randy Orton goes one on one with The Undertaker." Stephanie still looked anxious, despite trying to project a stronger façade and exited as Kane watched impassively despite his own gain from the deal.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Phew! I didn't even write the whole show and yet it feels a little like I did haha. I probably need to improve my Raw rewrite skills but this will do for the first attempt! This gives you a basic idea of what I'd like to do with the wrestling chapters. Stick to kayfabe, dedicate the whole chapter to what is on air. That doesn't mean you won't get backstage insight, you will – it will just be saved for the non-show chapters. As I mentioned last chapter, sometimes I might put two shows together in a chapter but I will address the time period in story too. Also, I will put two chapters up at a time when I do these chapters (sorry, this is technically today's second chapter ;) ) so you won't just get a kayfabe chapter. I'm guessing these kayfabe chapters will vary in length too, depending on the situations relating to Legacy that I'm going to attempt to rewrite and record. Thanks for your support guys! PS: If you hate this kayfabe chapter and non-kayfabe chapter kind of structure, and would prefer it all to be contained in one chapter and just put in the right context, please let me know – I want to make this a good reading experience for you.


	4. Chapter 03

**Author's Note:** Like I always remind you, I am a broke student who owns pretty much nothing. Taylor's my creation though.

* * *

Legacy of the Rattlesnake

 **February 2** **nd** **, 2009**

Taylor emerged from the bathroom after changing out of her ring gear, or at least, out of the leggings and her boots. She hadn't bothered to change from her Austin 3:16 tank and her leather jacket matched the leather shorts she was now wearing, despite the still cool weather. Taylor ran fairly hot most of the time anyway and didn't get cold too easily. She was caught a little off guard by the arm that Cody slung around her shoulders, tugging her in close for a moment.

"Did you enjoy your first show?"

"Hell yes!" She answered with a laugh, receiving a side squeeze from Cody before he released her and allowed her to walk over to her bag and pack the two items she held.

"I'm impressed you managed not to let any grins show until we were back in this locker room," Ted quipped.

"As long as she keeps doing that." Randy snapped before picking up his bag and heading out of the locker room. Taylor quirked her brow slightly at his attitude but let it roll off her back.

"Sorry about him." Cody apologised, "Um… You wouldn't happen to have a car though because I think he's leaving and we drove here with Randy today."

"Yeah, my rental is here. You can catch a ride with me, no worries." Taylor promised her teammates with a smile.

It wasn't long before they headed out to the car, all three of them putting their bags into the trunk. Ted and Cody squabbled briefly over who got to ride shotgun and Taylor left them to it, climbing into the driver's side and starting up the car. Almost immediately Ted clambered into the passenger side and Cody got into the back, the doors shutting behind them simultaneously. She glanced at them in surprise, quirking an eyebrow at the slightly panicked look on their faces and watched as a blush spread over Ted's cheeks.

"Uh… When you travel with Randy, if he starts the car with you outside of it, it means you're going to get left behind unless you decide quickly." He explained and when Taylor looked at Cody, his eyes confirmed the story. She rolled her own and shook her head slightly.

"What a dick. Don't worry; I'm not going to drive off without you. I figured I'd just get the car going while you two finished bickering."

"Right," Cody said, nodding, "You know, Tay, you should come down to the hotel bar with us for a while tonight so we can introduce you to some of the guys. If you haven't met them anyway."

"Well I have met a few people through Dad, but honestly I haven't seen any of them for a while. It'll be good to see familiar faces and to meet the new ones properly. I'm there, Codes."

"It's a date then," Said Ted, before Cody could reply to her, "We'll head straight down to the bar after putting our things in our room? What's your room number, we're in 315."

"Funnily enough, I'm in 316." Taylor said with a soft laugh. "So I guess we can put our bags in and then meet up outside – unless you guys want some time to take a shower, I mean you were covered in baby oil."

"Alright. Give us twenty minutes and we'll meet you and head down."

(~)

Taylor could hear the water running in Ted and Cody's bathroom from her room, not that it bothered her – though she'd had a quiet giggle over them fighting about who got to shower first. She liked the two of them and was relieved to be getting along with her other teammates, even if she and Randy didn't. Her phone buzzed at her hip and she slid it out of her pocket, wondering if it was her father calling even though they'd already agreed to speak the day after the show. It was a pleasant surprise to see Bob Holly's name on the screen. She picked up the call with a smile on her face.

"Well hello, Hardcore." She greeted affectionately, hearing him chuckled on the other end.

"Hey sweetheart, I thought I should give you a call after watching the show tonight. I know you didn't get to wrestle but it was a solid start. And I did get to see you brawling a little with security."

"Thanks Bob. Thanks for watching too, it means a lot to me. I just wish you were still here."

"Don't feel too bad for me, I've got things planned and I'm enjoying myself. I'm going to enjoy watching you too. You know how I feel about a lot of women wrestling – most of them just don't have _it_ but you do, kid. Don't forget that. You're tougher than any of them, hell, you're tougher than most of the guys too."

Taylor couldn't help but grin. The words meant a lot coming from him, she knew he valued that toughness and she tried to exude that in a wrestling ring. She wasn't afraid of a little pain, or taking on whomever she had to. "Bobby, you're gonna make me cry," She teased, "Seriously though. That means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. I want to make you proud out there. Unfortunately I don't think I'll get to wrestle on televised events as much as I'd like but I'm pretty sure that I'll be tangling with the boys so you'd still get to watch me be a tough SOB."

He laughed a little at her, "Good to know. You'll be wrestling house shows though, right?" Bob asked, pausing for her soft murmur of confirmation, "How's it going backstage? Cody's not still being a brat is he? Because he was towards the end of my run with him."

Taylor's eyes shifted over to the wall she could hear the water running through and a soft laugh escaped her, "No brattiness from him. Actually he and Ted have both been brilliant. Randy's the one who seems not to like me but his seal of approval means nothing compared to yours."

"I'm touched, kid," Bob said and she could hear the affection in his voice, "Ignore Orton and just keep giving it your all. No one can fault you for that. And make sure you keep the other two in line. Now, I'm guessing you're going to head out to talk to people soon, since I know you'll respect tradition no matter who's daughter you are, so I'll get off the line. I just wanted to let you know I'm proud of you."

She actually did have to swallow this time, "Thanks Bobby. I love you." The man was like a second father to her. She was pretty sure she was the only one who got away with calling him Bobby, even though she tried to limit the use of the nickname - for his sake.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

Not long after her call with Bob ended, Ted and Cody were knocking at her door. Sliding the phone back into her pocket, along with her wallet, Taylor headed out the door and smiled at her teammates. Cody slung his arm over her shoulders and Ted followed suite, both of them leading the way toward the lift and making her laugh.

"You excited about Stone Cold being inducted this year?" Ted asked after they'd entered the steel box and Taylor's smile turned into a wide grin.

"You have no idea," She answered, bouncing a little under their arms. "I think they want Vince to induct him, but hopefully I'll get to be up there with Dad at least. I'm so proud of him. He was always my hero growing up."

"Yours and the rest of the world's." Cody replied.

"Yeah but he's not their dad." Taylor said, and Cody laughed.

"Touche."

* * *

 **February 3** **rd** **2009**

"So, how'd you go seeing everyone last night?" Steve Austin asked his daughter, listening to her yawn and her sheets rustle. Clearly she'd only just woken up before their phone call.

"Good! You know, introduced myself to people I don't know and fortunately got along with everyone. Reunited with some of the people you'd introduced me to. Everything went fine. Got a call from Bob too, which was nice. I'm actually heading out for lunch with Cena today." She said as she walked into her bathroom, putting her phone on loudspeaker. "You're on loudspeaker dad. We're in the bathroom, and I need to get ready."

"Just no pissing with me on the phone," He teased. Taylor laughed at him, shaking her head even though he couldn't see her and starting to do her makeup, though she kept away from anything too fancy (after brushing her teeth, of course.) Steve continued, "I'm glad it went well, and that Bob called you. You've really made an impression on him. Now, about this lunch with Cena…"

"Dad, you know it's just lunch. Cena and I have always just been friends." Taylor scolded him. John Cena was one of the wrestlers that she had met previously and the two had always gotten along but they acted like siblings, not romantic prospects.

"Just making sure, kiddo." Stone Cold laughed at her, "How did things with Randy go?"

"More of the same." She answered, pausing to pass a lip-gloss brush over her lips and then press them together. "He doesn't seem to like me much." She could almost hear her father scowling as she ran a brush through her hair and looked at her work. She'd used a little powder over her face, just to even her skin tone but not enough to hide the freckles on her face, plus a little eyeliner and mascara. Her lip-gloss had a slight pink and gold tint but it was hardly noticeable without layering and Taylor hadn't bothered. Her hair she just left in it's dark waves, pushing it behind her shoulders for now.

"Ignore him. You know Bob and I will call you out if you _actually_ do a bad job, or need to improve on anything. Randy can just be bitter on his own. Trust the others around you, at least until he gets over himself. And if he keeps being a dick, stomp a mudhole in his ass-"

"And walk it dry!" Taylor cut her father off with a laugh. "I promise, I won't let him get to me, while still being open to critique. But we are going to have to continue this later because I need to get dressed and leave for lunch."

"Alright Tay. Call me when you can. Love you, Kiddo."

"I love you too Daddy."

(~)

"So Randy's being an ass, huh?" John asked Taylor once he'd swallowed down the mouthful of burger he'd been chewing on. Taylor, who was in the middle of chewing her own mouthful, nodded at him with an affirmative sound. "He's always been kinda like that Tay. Temperamental. I don't know if the I.E.D diagnosis for him on screen is that far off, he's always been explosive. Better now than he used to be, mind you, without the drugs. But still. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

Finally the woman swallowed and shrugged, "I'm not crying in a corner about it. If he comes around, he comes around – if not, I have plenty of friends, who cares if one person doesn't like me?"

"You do have to work with him though."

"So long as he's professional out there, what do I care? Besides, I get along with Ted and Cody. I'm fine."

John studied Taylor for a moment and when he found no lie in her eyes, nodded slightly, "Alright. As long as you're okay, I won't say anything." She rolled her eyes at him fondly before taking another large bite.

(~)

Taylor giggled to herself as they walked out of the restaurant they had finished dining in. They hadn't been noticed by fans but John had been hitting on their waitress throughout the whole lunch and had paused to get her number while Taylor started heading out towards the car.

"Are you laughing at me Baby Austin?"

"Absolutely! How on earth do you do it, John? You had her melting." Taylor was still laughing.

"It's the dimples." He said, grinning at her widely to show them off before throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in towards him. Taylor stumbled slightly and elbowed him in the side. "Hey!"

"Well be careful, you big oaf!" She teased him, and his dimples disappeared into a cute pout. "That doesn't work on me, dork."

"Suuuuure it doesn't. C'mon fool, we have a house show to get to, and you have an opponent to decimate – and then an Orton to laugh at." Cena said, fluffing Taylor's hair playfully and then taking off running towards the car. Laughing, she chased him and snatched the keys out of his hand when she caught up. "Hey!" He objected for a second time that day as she sped up, pressing the beeper and diving into the driver's seat. She smiled innocently up at him as he grumbled and got into the passenger side. "This is my rental."

"Cena, you drive like a maniac. I'd like to get to the house show in one piece."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I realise there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter. I guess I just wanted to open some of Taylor's relationships with people up a bit more for you guys! The next couple of chapter should come out as a pair. Next chapter will be a kayfabe one and I'll follow it with a non-kayfabe chapter. Things should start picking up and getting more dramatic soon ;) (Also, I'm hoping to update _If It All Ended Tomorrow_ soon as well!)


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